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The 30 Day Music Challenge, Day 1: Green & Red

Not too long ago, I found out about something some younger person probably came up with called the 30 Day Song Challenge. I thought I might look through the songs featured on the albums I put in the Top 100 Christian albums list (plus the Honorable Mentions) of the 1990s, but I thought that would be too difficult to narrow down.

So for each entry of this challenge (which I don't think I'll be able to do daily, let's be honest), I'm going to look at 2 songs -- one that's from an album on the list, and one that's not. To kick things off, we're going to dive right in.

DAY 1. Choose a song with a color in the title.From the 1990s list: "The Color Green" by Rich Mullins

This song from the classic A Liturgy, a Legacy, and a Ragamuffin Band album sticks out to me, as it was the first Rich Mullins song I remember hearing that wasn't stuck in the CCM formula of songs. This one used a slightly different tack of finding praise for the God of Heaven and Earth in nature itself.

And the wrens have returned and they're nestingIn the hollow of that oak where his heart once had beenAnd he lifts up his arms in a blessing for being born againAnd the streams are all swollen with winterWinter unfrozen and free to run away nowAnd I'm amazed when I rememberWho it was that built this houseAnd with the rocks I cry out

The color green is almost synonymous with nature -- the grass, the leaves of the trees, the winter wheat, the first stages of life in many forms of plant varieties. The color provides life for each plant, as the sun allows the chlorophyll to convert carbon dioxide into food for the plant, expelling oxygen for its fellow man. We speak of recycling, or leaving a smaller carbon footprint, and we use the term "going green". It's only fitting that seeing the majesty of nature in its unspoiled splendor would remind us of the Father of all creation. That he saw fit to not only give us what we needed to live, but that it would be enjoyable, vast, even pleasing to the eye, is a testament to His love and care for us.

Let us worship Him in the colors of the hills.

Off the list: "Don't Stop Living in the Red" by Andrew W.K.

What in the world would this life be like if Andrew W.K. wasn't in it? Boring, that's what.

Push it into overdrive and go forward with everything you have -- that's the message in this song, where the only lyrics are the title, and nothing else. A short, powerful, kinetic anthem full of adrenaline. Worth listening to for an intense, short workout, or a 90-second sprint.

There Is No Box.
Zach

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So I've learned one thing about writing a blog series: plan better. For instance, don't try to write the last installment the week before Easter when you work at a church full-time. That's just a losing proposition.

Here we are. The pinnacle. The peak. The top of the mountain, the best of the best.The Top 10 Christian Albums of the 1990s. Forget AC/pop radio, because you're not going to hear mid-30s mommy music here. Unless you were a mid-30s mommy in the '90s and actually listened to this stuff. Then it's totally yours. But these albums, to me, are the most beloved, most artistic, most groundbreaking, most creative, and most important albums from that decade, and they span from the very beginning of the 1990s to the very end.

Last year, I created my first Top 10 (+1) list, and it was of my favorite games. Games that I would want to play any chance I could game, that I think everyone ought to try at least once, games that I would probably never get sick of. Since that time, I've been exposed to a few dozen other games. I acquired more than 15 games at one game convention alone (Geekway To The West in St. Louis, Missouri), and others through various channels, and I played more games this year than I think I ever have before. Being relatively new in the hobby, my sample size is still pretty small.

Nevertheless, you like what you like, and I like to play games.

With this list, I decided to include 3 Honorable Mentions, because there are just too many games out there that deserve the praise I can't give in a Top 10 (+1) list. I thought about doing a Top 20, but . . . no.

When the clock finally strikes midnight on this list, my hope is that those who read this series will be inspired to check out some of the albums listed here, and thus find out more about the goodness of God. Yeah, the music is an example of great, quality musicianship and stellar production, but there are truths about the nature of God inherent in the very music itself. If nothing else, we have an opportunity to catch a glimpse of the Father with our eyes completely shut.

So, here we go. Continuing the count with #40.

40. WORLDS AWAY - Crumbacher-DukeI saw a print ad for this album in CCM Magazine, and I liked the fashions that Stephen Crumbacher and Christopher Duke were wearing. Back when many Christian bookstores were doing the "Buy 4 Get 1 Free" sticker promotions, I used the stickers I'd saved to get this cassette for free, and I'm glad I did. It would be several years later when I realized who the "Crumbacher" was in the duo, but I was very glad to hav…